NFC will take time to build, says Amex chief

Edward Gilligan, vice chairman at American Express, has set out the thinking behind the payments giant’s recent series of deals with Isis, Facebook, Foursquare, Sprint and Verizon in an interview with Bloomberg TV.

In an interview with Bloomberg TV, American Express vice chairman Edward Gilligan has explained the thinking behind the company’s recent deals.

“For us, it’s relatively simple… We’re finding ways to add value to our card members as well as to help merchants that accept American Express grow their business,” he explained.

“I think there’s great opportunities with mobile payments and NFC,” he added. “But it’s not going to be an overnight phenomenon. It’s going to take time to build.”

With the new deal with Facebook, Gilligan explained, “we’re bringing much of the promise of mobile payments to life right now… We’re focusing not so much on the technology, we’re focusing on using technology as enabler to add value to our cardmembers and to merchants that accept our cards.”